My (Modified) Acorn Trail Cargo Duffle

I've really been thrown off my blogging game. I was in a crazy project crunch in the week leading up to Quilt Market, then I got swept up in all the fun. Next week was Quilt Festival, then I had to finish our Ren Fest costumes before I could move on to my list of handmade Xmas presents. Excuse my while I collapse on the floor in a dramatic fashion.

Let's backtrack to the "crazy project crunch" I mentioned, and alluded to in my earlier MRW post.

The Monday before Quilt Market, I decided it would be a brilliant idea to make myself a Noodlehead Cargo Duffle to carry for the weekend. In hindsight, it was a dumb idea because 1) I only carried it to Fabric 2.0 & Sample Spree on Friday and 2) I think I lost a little bit of sanity trying to make a Cargo Duffle in two evenings.

Being the nutcase I am, I decided I would also make a few modifications to the pattern.

1) I pieced the exterior panels (using my Acorn Trail bundle by Teagan White) instead of using a single fabric.



2) I added a layer of Pellon Craft Fuse 808 to the side panels so it would be less floppy. I forgot to add it the gusset pieces though because after 8 hours of work and several hours of frantic sewing, my brain is running a bit like Forrest Gump on his cross-country trek.

3) I made my duffle a 10" wide instead of 6" the pattern calls for. While this makes it great for an overnight bag or Mary Poppins bag to stuff all my projects into for guild show & tell...it ended up being a bad move for the purpose of Market. It was just too big and impractical to carry around all day.



4) I added a detachable, adjustable strap for ultimate pack mule usage. It was a simple process. I just had to add a small fabric loops with O-rings to the gusset seams.

5) Instead of binding the interior seams, I added a lining following this tutorial. I opted to hand stitch my lining into my duffle because I'm not the best at wrangling 3D objects through my machine. It makes me feel like a farm hand and I'm just not cut out for that life.




Overall, I love this bag. It wasn't a good fit for Market, but it's earned it's place as my trusty Mary Poppins bag!